If you’re looking for a handstand challenge for all abilities – beginner, improver or intermediate – you’ve just found it! Hurray!

We’ve all seen those photos and films of yogis, Calisthenics and CrossFit folk effortlessly floating up into handstands, no supporting wall (or flailing around!) in sight. And, naturally, we’d all love to be able to do the same. But the fact is, most of us don’t all have the required strength – we’re not even close.

The good news is, that doesn’t mean we can’t begin building up to handstands – and it definitely doesn’t mean our efforts won’t be as satisfying or enjoyable as standing on our hands.

Read on to find out how you can get involved!

The Space Within Handstand Challenge for all abilities – a shared journey

The cactus spikes gave me an incentive to free-hold!

Our 12-day online handstand challenge will be a shared experience – the emphasis is on learning together, sharing tips, offering mutual support, and enjoying the journey, even if we don’t all achieve a full handstand by the end.

I’m not doing badly; I can kick up, and I’ve even started holding it away from the wall for a few brief seconds (head over to @spacewithin_ on Instagram and you’ll find a film I did in Lanzarote – against a lovely bright white wall!). But I’m still a way off my end goal, and there’s some room for improvement in my alignment. So I’ll be right there doing this challenge with you!

Where, when and how

The Space Within Handstand Challenge begins on Monday 16th July and ends on Friday 27th 2018. During that time, our Instagram posts will give you a new preparatory pose to add to your routine each day, so you can build up gradually and safely. It also means you’ll have a full practice sequence, which you can continue to use long after the challenge has ended! There’ll be some supporting material on our Facebook page, too, so make sure you’ve ‘liked’ the page before the challenge begins.

What to expect

We’ll be working on everything from the finer details, such as how to use the breath and bandhas to create extra stability in the body, to all the major muscle groups, with strengthening exercises for the core, shoulders, arms and legs. We’ll be covering other important aspects of working towards handstands too, like wrist warm-ups, safe alignment, and how not to do a handstand.

Bonus tips & tricks!

We’ve contacted a few people whose handstand practice has really impressed us and asked them to share their tips and tricks as we progress through the challenge. This means that on certain days, you’ll get your daily Space Within exercise to add to your routine, and you’ll also be able to head over to our partners’ pages for more exercises of the same sort!

Come on in, make yourself at home!

Join the Space Within community!

Throughout the challenge, we’d love you to post your own photos and films, as you follow each stage of the challenge – mentioning @spacewithin_ (and any of our partners who’ve inspired you) and using the hashtag #spacewithinhandstandchallenge.

This will allow the Space Within community to encourage and support each other. Remember, this is a handstand challenge for ALL abilities, so don’t feel shy – and definitely don’t think you can only post something if you’re able to do a handstand. The whole point of this is that we learn and grow together.